UTRGV slips by McNeese State

Although the UTRGV Vaqueros (7-11, 3-6) were away from home for the past two weeks, they capitalized on the home opportunity when they faced McNeese State (14-4, 7-2) on Saturday at the Fieldhouse and won 79 76.

McNeese, who is now ranked No. 2 in Southland Conference play, came into the game on a four-game winning streak.

In front of the season’s best crowd in terms of number — 2,119 — the intensity was there for the Vaqueros to start the game off strong. In which they did as they set the tempo early with a 10-0 run against the Cowboys.

At one point in the first half, the Vaqueros found themselves up by 19 following a 12-0 run that was sparked by Koree Cotton for UTRGV.

The end of the first half found UTRGV outscoring the visitors, 46-30. However, Mc-Neese was led by Tyshawn Archie, who had 23 points to lead both teams in scoring.

The effort by the Cowboys wasn’t enough as UTRGV was able to hold onto the lead and make some buckets when it counted.

UTRGV was led by the offensive effort from Marvin McGhee III, who had 17 points on the night, along with 3 three-pointers. The Vaqueros shot 48% from downtown.

On the night, UTRGV was in the green on offense as they had a 54.2 field goal percentage.

The UTRGV Vaqueros were scheduled to play Southeastern Louisiana on Monday at the Fieldhouse. UTRGV won the matchup, 68-65 to enter a two-game winning streak.